My last days in Paris

Versailles

Rach this is for you. x

Paris the last couple of days.

Day 10 was spent with my uncle Kiki, we had lots to see and catch up on, things I wanted to know about my family and a very special trip to see my grandmother.

It started with a coffee and juice on the top of Galeries Lafayette - what a view!

Then we stopped for a quick lunch before heading to the cemetery to visit my grandmothers grave.

As you can see lunch was delicious, that chocolate tart below was so incredible.

and when the bill came, so did my favourite lollies.

When I had decided I would come to Paris there was one thing that I was doing no matter what and that was visiting my grandmother. Both my parents have very complicated sad family stories and it was time for me to understand my mother's story once and for all.

This is the cemetery - such a beautiful place

My Grandmother died at 23 leaving behind a 3 1/2 year old and 1 1/2 year old - not a story I feel I should tell, but hopefully for my sake and my cousins my uncle and mother might one day write it together.

Uncle Kiki was this the Jewish part? Where the people were killed in the concentration camps?

After that emotional visit we headed to my Uncle's place in Versailles to have dinner with my Auntie Rosette and one of my cousins Ivan.

 Some of my family - all gorgeous

 Uncle Kiki I want to see your photo's!!!

On the drive home they stopped and let me watch the tower sparkle.

The next day I had planned on going to Versailles, I remembered it from my last trip to Paris when I was 19 and wanted to re visit. My Uncle collected me again and drove me back to his home in Versailles. 

Saturday morning in Versailles is beautiful, of course all I wanted to do was see the food so my uncle kindly took me to a few special places that supplied the most incredible local produce.

The farmers market in Versailles was perfect if only I had a little apartment in which I could buy my produce and go home and cook - my kids would have died with all the yumminess that was there.

Then it was a quick look at the King's kitchen garden shop - all the produce in this shop is grown in the king's kitchen garden the few things in that shop were magic, frank would have made a b-line for those capsicums and those tiny cucumbers.

Then we arrived at Versailles....

 
If you've been here you will understand how life changing this experience can be. It is out of this world, hard to believe that the King's and Queen's lived here, the history Marie Antoinette.....this was one of my favourite day's - my Uncle and Auntie and Versailles.

Then inside was breath taking to think people lived her hundreds of years ago and it's all still standing and this beautiful

You really need a full day or even two to be able to fully appreciate the beauty here. We headed back up to the main Palace just in time - I think we were the last ones in before the doors shut.

A selfie of the three of us - my Uncle and Auntie were the best tour guides ever - history experts and incredible English. I promise next time I'll speak french!

Everyone was exhausted.

The next day I was on a mission to find the Bio open air food market.

After a wild goose chase with myself and a little help from the man at my hotel, I found it!

I have dreamed of moments like this. If there was a job where I could just document food markets of the world, that would be my dream job!

This market went for 5 blocks and I spent 3 hours there walking up and down, over and over again. 

Tasting things, buying food I couldn't resist, Instagraming every footstep - obsessive compulsive you might call it!

 Do you blame me?

©Michelle Schoeps 2013

All photos taken by Michelle Schoeps